Cards must be received directly from tournament officials. This product must be new and previously unopened. Pro Tour, Regional Championships, and World Championship tournaments may have had play boosters opened in order to stamp them. Each player (or team) must be given exactly the same quantity and type of product as all other players participating in the tournament. For example, if one player receives three Murders at Karlov Manor play boosters for a booster draft, all other players must also receive three Murders at Karlov Manor play boosters.
Only cards from the expansions of the play boosters opened (and only cards opened or drafted in that player’s pool) may be used in a player’s deck. The following are exceptions to this rule:
- Players may add an unlimited number of cards named Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, or Forest to their deck and sideboard. They may not add additional snow basic land cards (e.g. Snow-Covered Forest, etc) or Wastes basic land cards, even in formats in which they are legal.
- Non-basic lands from the Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash expansions are allowed when opened in Dragon’s Maze boosters.
- Non-basic lands from the Khans of Tarkir expansion are allowed when opened in Fate Reforged boosters.
- Non-basic lands from the Zendikar Expeditions set are allowed when opened in Battle for Zendikar or Oath of the Gatewatch boosters.
- Cards from a Masterpiece Series are allowed when opened in boosters associated with that series.
- Prerelease tournaments may feature additional exceptions. These will be announced as part of the Prerelease information.
Players may ask a judge for permission to replace a card with another version of the same card.
Because it was designed specifically for multiplayer play, the use of Conspiracy boosters in sanctioned, rated Limited-format tournaments (Sealed Deck and Booster Draft) is not permitted.
Six play boosters per player are recommended for individual format Sealed Deck tournaments and 3 play boosters per player for individual Booster or Team Rochester Draft tournaments. For the recommended product mix for the current block, refer to Appendix D.
If the Tournament Organizer allows players to provide their own product, that product must be pooled with the rest of the product for the tournament and randomly distributed.
If the Tournament Organizer is not providing extra land cards for use in a Limited tournament, they must announce this before tournament registration. Tournament Organizers may require players to return these land cards when they leave the tournament. Players may use their own basic lands during tournaments.
As a reminder, players in Prerelease tournaments may use the foil promotional card they open, as that card is from the current set. As a small additional reminder, checklist cards that are opened may be used if the player has opened the appropriate dual sided card as well.
Players may ask to replace a card with another version of the same card. Often players will ask for a proxy for foil cards. While this proxy should not be issued unless the card is opened damaged, the player may use an equivalent non-foil version if available.
Players often prefer to use their own basic lands for a variety of reasons. While this is typically not an issue, be aware of foil basic lands that are marked (warped), or Alpha lands that cause particular markings on sleeves through the course of the day. While the lands themselves may be fine, the markings can become an issue.